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Somalia peacekeepers arrested for selling military supplies African Union troops in Somalia arrested for selling military supplies
(about 1 hour later)
Five peacekeepers with the African Union mission in Somalia (Amisom) and 10 Somalis have been arrested for selling military equipment, police say. Five soldiers with the African Union mission in Somalia (Amisom) and 10 Somalis have been arrested for selling military equipment, police say.
They were found with improvised detonators, fuel, sandbags and empty ammunition boxes, reports the BBC Ibrahim Aden in the capital, Mogadishu.They were found with improvised detonators, fuel, sandbags and empty ammunition boxes, reports the BBC Ibrahim Aden in the capital, Mogadishu.
Amisom has not commented beyond saying it is trying to confirm the arrests.Amisom has not commented beyond saying it is trying to confirm the arrests.
The mission is fighting alongside Somali government forces against al-Shabab Islamist militants.The mission is fighting alongside Somali government forces against al-Shabab Islamist militants.
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The police have not said who the equipment was being sold to. This is the first time African Union troops have been arrested in Somalia since Amisom was established nine years ago, our correspondent says.
The police said they caught the men as they were trying to sell the equipment to civilians.
Surveillance
Somalia's police chief Mohamed Sheikh Hassan Hamud told reporters that the Amisom troops had been under surveillance for a while after allegations that they were involved in the illegal trade.
''The Somali police have been investigating repeated claims that equipment and other resources meant for the Amisom forces were ending up in the hands of people who were misusing them," he said.
Somalia's Interior Minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed said the sale of equipment may "explain why insecurity is increasing in Somalia".
The 15 men are expected to appear in court in Mogadishu soon.
Amisom has soldiers from Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, but it is not clear where the five arrested men come from.